Heather Solos's Blog, page 26

Organizational Sunday Challenge Week #18

Heather says,

The effort involved in this week’s challenge will depend on your pack rat tendencies. This week’s goal is to get rid of excess magazines and books that no, you are not going to read. 

The Friends of the Library is a great place to donate old books and quality magazines, like National Geographic. Check with aging care facilities and hospitals, too. If you choose to give magazines instead of recycling, be sure to remove your name and mailing address.

If you find that you are a magazine hoarder and always have more magazines than time, let’s start putting a solution to the problem into place. Look at the magazines you have not gotten around to reading and cancel the subscriptions. 

You don’t need another physical reminder of how much time you don’t spend on the things you want.

If you are saving magazines because they contain a recipe you want to keep, take a picture of the recipe and save it to a private board on Pinterest or in your phone’s camera roll —Look Ma, no copyright infringement!

 

                

Why Do My Black T-Shirts Get Red Patches

Dear Home-Ec 101,


Why do my black shirts come out of the laundry with red/reddish patches?


Signed,


Spotty in Spartanburg


Heather says:


Laundry mysteries are always fun.

Not too long ago we had an issue where one of my children’s s t-shirts were always ripping under one of the arms. We checked the inside of the washer for a rough edge—despite knowing it wouldn’t target only one person’s laundry out of six. No one has ever accused me of being completely rational all of the time.

Well, it was a mystery until I happened to see him take his shirt off at the pool. There was a lot of pulling, tugging, and elbows and flailing. A lightbulb went off, so that’s how it happens! A quick demonstration of Hey, take a breath and carefully remove your shirt, no more holes. Neat.

The red spots on your black t-shirts have a chemical cause. The dye that makes your t-shirts black has been partially removed by an agent leaving behind only the more colorfast (permanent) reddish color. If you continued to expose the fabric to bleaching agents the color would fade to near white.

Now it’s your turn to laundry detective to determine where the bleach that ruins your clothing lurks.


Bleach and whitening agents can be found in a lot of household products which leaves quite a few possibilities:

Whitening toothpaste
Whitening mouthwash
Acne medication with benzoyl peroxide
Disinfecting wipes or sprays 
Bleach from previous use incompletely rinsed or left on a surface in the laundry room 

Figuring out which item is responsible is usually dependent on where the stain is. Toothpaste? Look for spatters similar to what shows up on the bathroom mirror (then clean the mirror). Mouth wash? Slightly larger drops, similar to food stains. Acne medication, think about how you remove your shirt and look for patches of discoloration where your face may be touched. Generally these areas are incompletely bleached as not much transfers. A recently bleached counter will often leave a line right at counter height from leaning in to the mirror to get a good look. Anything else a little splotchy is likely bleach left on a surface or incorrectly added to the washing machine. 

And don’t feel badly, you aren’t the only one to wonder what causes red spots on clothing.

*Always be careful if you use a shared laundry machine and wash your laundry from lights to darks to prevent someone else’s bleach from ruining your clothing.* More public laundromat advice can be found here.  

Submit your household mysteries to helpme@home-ec101.com.

                

Menu Monday 2016 Week #17

Heather says:


Do you ever have consistently over-estimate the amount of time and energy you’ll have in a given period?

I’m right there, right now and paying for it. This weekend I forced myself offline, with the intention of spending a lot of time with my family. (Intentions are cute aren’t they?) What really happened is I fell into bed early, did not do very much and then took a long nap. Rinse and repeat. I still could have slept in today.

I did manage to run  a quick experiment with the kids, I had a bunch of vegetables that were on the verge so I sliced them all thinly, like I do for grilled vegetable packets. I gave each kid a sheet a foil and said have at it, but you have to eat what you assemble. 

They. Loved. It.

For the record they are 12, 10, 10, and 8, it might not go over so well with a younger crowd, but giving them some control and ownership went over really well. You can use a Sharpie to add initials to the outside of the packet, this is easier than attempting to create coded folds.  Keep track of where you put the initial so you aren’t juggling a hot packet trying to figure out who it belongs to.

Whatever vegetables were left I cooked in another packet and we heated it up for a quick scramble on Sunday morning. 

For those paying attention, yes the week got switched around quite a bit. It’s okay, the menu plan is designed to make our lives easier, not to serve as an iron-clad rule.

This week, my goal —there I go again— is to be a little better about closing the laptop at the end of my scheduled work day. We have company coming from out of town toward the end of the week and we haven’t quite figured out those plans. To compensate, the menu will be things that can easily carry over to another meal.

What are you planning this week?

Monday – Sauteed Vegetables (a no-egg skillet) with cheese grits
Tuesday – C. O. R. N.
Wednesday – Meatloaf, Carrots, Rice
Thursday – Macaroni and Cheese


(I need to get a picture of what this recipe as evolved into, we tend to add a couple strips of bacon chopped, leftover cooked chicken, and sauteed onions and garlic. It’s no longer a Kraft copy-cat, it has evolved into a main dish the kids beg for. I add a little Frank’s Hot Sauce and top mine with blue cheese crumbles) Broccoli
Friday – Tuna Cakes, Caesar Salad (if we don’t use it for dinner, it can be lunch the next day)
Saturday – Corn Chowder -skipping the roux
Sunday – Lowcountry Boil (We’ll eat here at least one night the guests are in town, we won’t pick up the shrimp until we’re sure we’ll use them)

Have a great week.

              Related StoriesMenu Monday Week #16Menu Monday Week #14 of 2016Menu Monday Week 11 of 2016 

Sunday Organizational Challenge Week #17 – Your Daily Schedule

Heather says

If you’ve ever taken the time to check out weekly chore schedule (foreshadowing to next week). You’ll see that on Sunday I suggest taking a moment to look over the upcoming week and figuring out what you have to do when.

I used to be really good at remembering everything that needed to be done –and then I went on some medication that strongly affected my short term memory and I kissed all of that goodbye. (It could have been the event that caused the need, but it doesn’t matter). It took am a very long time to admit that I needed help with these things. Not too long ago I read Your Brain at Work, as part of my attempt to regain my focus. The book taught me a lot about memory and mental fatigue. There’s a reason it’s harder to exercise self-control at the end of the day, why when you do the 4pm stare into the fridge nothing jumps out at you and says make ME for dinner. You have a finite amount of energy and creativity.

The good news is that habits don’t take as much energy as making decisions (and for that matter, neither does being told what to do )

Today we’re going to use these two things to give ourselves a nudge in the right direction.  I don’t mean you should take the idea to the extreme of Will Ferrell’s character in Stranger Than Fiction —I was surprised by how much I enjoyed that movie— where his entire life was a habit. Somewhere between having no plan and having a plan for every moment is a happy place. It’s going to be different for each of us, but you’ll know you’ve found your sweet spot when you no longer find yourself apologizing for missing something important that has slipped your mind. (Life will still get in the way of the things we want to do with things we have to, that’s not what I mean) 

On a scratch sheet of paper write down all of the things that have to be done every day. For now, make sure that list includes things that seem obvious and are already a habit. The act of writing down the obvious may remind you of the things you “want” to do each day but haven’t yet made a habit. 

Then look at your calendar and write down the things that recur on a weekly basis and add those to your list, with the day they need to happen on. Our weekly chore list might be a good place to start.

The things that are already a habit, go ahead and scratch them off. The rest, add to your reminder app or calendar to let you know when they need to be done.

Then grab the tool you used to schedule bill payments and add the things that were still on the list as recurring items. 

When you find yourself having done the task before the timer goes off, several days or weeks in a row, that’s when you can disable the reminder. 

Have a great week!

                

Menu Monday Week #16

Heather says

I hope everyone had a great week. I had a work trip to Salt Lake City, which is quickly turning into one of my favorite places. The company I work for, FeedBlitz*, was a sponsor of the SNAP conference. SNAP attendees are generally craft and DIY bloggers. For three days it looked like Pinterest had exploded all over the hotel. Lovely people, just man do they ever bring out the impostor syndrome, but I’m aware that’s a me, not a them thing.

Breathe. Good enough is good enough.

Yesterday’s Weekly Organizing Challenge is to plan the week’s menu. I’d be a complete hypocrite if I didn’t at least follow through here. Here’s a printable to make your own menu planning easier. Are you looking forward to any meals this week? I’m looking forward to figuring out how to write up the Greek potatoes on Sunday, if I get any good pictures before the vultures descend family eats everything.

Monday – Grilled Sausage and Vegetable Packets (it’s just the two of us tonight)



Tuesday – Grilled Chicken for Caesar Salads (We’ll grill the chicken on Monday, making Tuesday super easy)
Wednesday – Shredded Beef Tacos, Refried Beans, Cabbage Slaw


 
Thursday – Clean Out Refrigerator Night 
Friday – Dilled Salmon (needs new pictures), baked sweet potatoes, lentil pilaf
Saturday – Black Bean Burgers with Tater tots (I know, I know, but one super kid focused meal a week won’t kill ’em) and vegetables with ranch
Sunday – Roast Chicken, Greek Potatoes, Broccoli Salad

*Yes, this is why you sometimes see things like “This is a test form, do not use* here and there on the site. I use Home-Ec101 as a guinea pig from time to time.

                

Organizational Sunday Challenge #16: The Menu Plan

Heather says:

Recently we worked through organizing the kitchen (see Challenges 6 – 10) if you want to play catch-up. Today we’re going to combine the kitchen organization with our last couple of weeks of financial focus. I want to be very, very clear. I absolutely know that little tips like not buying convenience items can make someone who is facing a mountain of debt laugh hysterically. I know you cannot get water from a stone. I know this. In general, suggestions here are for those who are slowly sinking into debt through less than careful choices or are trying to get out from under student loans or have a few bad choices to undo. 

I know everyone is tired of hearing brew your coffee at home instead of out and save $4 a day. I’ll try my best to refrain from those types of suggestions. Just be cognizant of these things as you make the choice to hit the drive through for a venti latte. (I’m guilty, too!)

I’ve written a series – learning to menu plan which I think I’m going to turn into an ebook, just for ease of consumption.

This week your challenge is to sit down and plan your menu.

If you need ideas, there are many sample menus on this site. Just search Menu Monday to get started.

While you’re planning your menu, create your shopping list, and add any reminders to your To-Do List or App right now. (Those reminders are things like “Pull the chicken from the freezer, soak the beans.”)

 It’s not too hard. This week also keep track of what you didn’t spend on eating out. Make a plan for that saved money: add it to your emergency fund, put it towards your debt, save it for a splurge you will remember, not just another drive-through-dinner.

See you next week! 

                

Organizational Challenge Sunday Week #15

Heather says

This week is a continuation of last week’s theme, getting your finances in order. Last week we took stock of our finances, making sure money is allocated to the right places. Having the money to pay your bills is just the first step, the next is making sure they actually get paid. 

This week your job is to set up a system to ensure each bill is paid on time.

Don’t rely on only your memory, sometimes life gets busy and we get thrown off our routines. Having an automatic reminder can save a lot of hassle and money.

Personally, I use an app called: To Do Reminder, but something like Remember the Milk, Google or iCalendar may work for you. Each bill is its own task and the reminder should be set before the final day the payment needs to be mailed or paid depending on your preferences.

Not long ago, I had an issue in which the post office decided —I never got a reason why— to stop delivering some of my mail. I only discovered the issue when my insurance agent called to ask if I had moved. No. . . why? We have several statements addressed to you marked Undeliverable: Return to Sender. Thankfully I didn’t rely on that paper reminder to pay my car insurance. I logged in and paid it when the reminder popped up on my phone. If I had missed my car insurance payment, my license would have been suspended and I may not have noticed which could have caused a cascade of problems.

This week, set up your payment reminders. Those of you who have a partner handle the bills, ask in a non-accusatory manner, how they make sure that the bills are paid on time. While having this discussion make sure you have access to the accounts that they manage. If something were to happen to your partner, not having this access could make things much worse.

Have a great week!

                

Menu Monday Week #14 of 2016

Heather says:

Ray, my fiancé, is from Southern California and is the reason tacos seem to be on the menu every week. 

Any suggestions for dinner this week, Ray?

Tacos.

Sigh. 

As if that’s not enough tacos for anyone, every couple of weeks we visit a local taco truck / stand where I have fallen in love with their tacos al pastor. 

Cinco de Mayo is coming and people will be searching for tacos and other Mexican food. I need to update a lot of recipes and I don’t like wasting food. So on a rare, kid-free weekend we threw a taco photoshoot party. What, you don’t do this?

We made all the tacos we tend to eat around here, and I experimented with a recipe for tacos al pastor. My wonderful neighbor pitched in and warmed all the tortillas while I took photos. 

The recipes will either be posted or updated this week and I hope you love them as much as I do.

Unfortunately, I forgot to get pictures of the sangria, so. . .I’ll just have to make more. 

Shucks.

You feel my disappointment right.

Menu planning helps us stay on track with our budget and helps us avoid that 4pm vacant stare into the refrigerator. Sometimes we don’t eat what’s planned, but having the option ready and knowing the ingredients are on hand saves a lot of time, frustration and money.

What are you having this week? Here’s a printable to help you with your planning and grocery shopping.

Monday – Taco party leftovers
Tuesday – Caesar Salad with grilled chicken
Wednesday – Sausage Peppers and Onions






Thursday – Stir Fry with shrimp or chicken
Friday – Dilled Salmon, Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes
Saturday – Clean Out Refrigerator Night
Sunday – Roast Chicken, Rice and Peas, Green Beans

Let us know what you’re having in the comments!

                

Organizational Sunday Challenge Week #14

Heather says

Just pretend this organizational challenge is an elevator, there is no 13th floor. Last week was Easter and it felt, to me, a bit inappropriate to mail out a challenge. 

So here we are in April, if you’re in the US it is tax season. It’a good a time as any to sit down and take stock of your budget. Now that we’re no longer chasing down our keys every week, we may have a little more mental space to deal with more challenging things like budgets.

This week’s challenge: Take Stock of Your Finances and Make a Plan

If someone else in your household handles all of the finances, your challenge is to sit down with said person and go over the state of things. (This should happen regularly, it’s not micro-managing, it’s not being nosy, it’s communicating)

If you need a starting point for getting your household expenditures organized, keep reading, otherwise, see you next week.

The last few years have been a bit tumultuous on the financial side of things. I have a good job, so I’ve been able to keep my head above water, but divorce (lawyer fees, even for the most amicable, we worked out everything before coming to you, process are shockingly high), the self-employment tax (I was a contract employee that first year), buying a fixer-upper, fixing up the fixer-upper, and then combining households has been an interesting ride. If it weren’t for some discipline, I could have been in serious trouble. 

I like Dave Ramsey’s concept of first creating the mini-emergency fund -which has saved my butt- and then paying down debt smallest to largest. I don’t necessarily agree with his entire philosophy, but I see him as a solid place to start.

I don’t exactly do the envelope system so many people rave about. I do the hey, we’re in the 21st century and online banking makes moving money between multiple accounts super-easy method. (I should probably work on a better name for the process).

The goal is, if you are living paycheck to paycheck to slowly dig yourself out of that situation. If you are just disorganized the “payoff” will be an almost immediate reduction in stress. Next week, we’ll work on setting up a system to remember to pay each bill.

How it works.

You’ll need at minimum three accounts, two checking and one saving. If your bank doesn’t let you have two free checking accounts and one savings account, it’s time to find a new bank.

Gather all of your bills and financial obligations, yes, all of them. 

On a sheet of paper or spreadsheet total your bills and multiply them to figure our the annual total. Inconsistent bills like utilities should be based on the highest month, not the average. Don’t forget your less regular bills like house and car insurance or property taxes. It’s probably a shockingly high number, breathe. 

Take the annual total and divide it based on how often you are paid. (I’m paid weekly, so I divide by 52. If you’re paid on the 1st and 15th, you’d divide by 24, every other week 26, or monthly 12). This number is your bill total.

If this total is higher than your income, this is a much bigger problem than organization can solve, I’m sorry.

Each pay period, you’re going to sit down and perform the following math problem:

Income – bill total = savings and discretionary income

Decide how much of the remainder is savings at the beginning of the pay period.  When your paycheck lands your account, move the money into:

Your savings / emergency fund – this one should be able to be accessed in an emergency. As your savings grow, you’ll want to move the money over your minimum emergency fund into a less accessible place. 
The bill checking account
Discretionary income

The key to making this work is to force yourself to live out of only your discretionary income for food, gas, entertainment, clothing etc. Do not rob Peter to pay Paul, the money in the bill account has already been spent and is only for bills. The savings / emergency fund is for emergencies, no exceptions. 

The wiggle room created by using the highest variable bill total should not be added back to your discretionary income. This money is your “buffer money” and you’ll use it to insulate yourself.It’s a good idea to not let your bill account hit zero each month, buffer money helps with this. In a few months, you can use some, but not all, of the buffer money to pay down debt.

You may find yourself playing  Iron Chef: Scrounge the Pantry Edition on the last couple of days of a pay period. Try to keep a, this is a challenge, I want to meet my goals mindset rather than focusing on a feeling of deprivation. It is hardest in the beginning or after an emergency occurs and you have to rebuild your savings. 

It’s going to be okay and it’s going to be worth it.

                

How to Clean Up After a Toilet Overflows

Dear Home Ec 101,


So, twice this has happened lately thanks to little girls who don’t always flush when they’re supposed to. I have all the towels to mop up the water and um mess, from the toilet overflow itself. Then I have to wash the towels, floor, and toilet. And then I feel the need to run a bleach cycle in the washing machine, just in case. And I also feel like after mopping the floor I need to disinfect the floor. Then I want to disinfect the mop. So this is a big annoying process. What are your thoughts on these unpleasant messes?


Signed,


Flustered in Flushing

Heather says:

Think about this, properly washing your hands with soap and water is just as effective as washing with an antimicrobial soap. It’s not the Triclosan that gets your hands clean, it’s the soap bringing the germs into the water where they are then rinsed away.

When cleaning, even very germy things, the same principle applies.

Unless someone in your house has a compromised immune system -I’m talking a baby that has been in the NICU, an elderly relative, chemo patients, etc. There is no need to go crazy with disinfection in the bathroom. In general, the act of cleaning takes care of almost everything. The act of washing your hands properly after using the toilet and before preparing food is what takes care of the rest.

Does this mean I don’t recommend thoroughly cleaning your bathroom after a sewage back up?

Heck no.

I just mean it’s not quite as necessary to do as many disinfecting steps as you’re undertaking.

Regular bathroom cleaning is sufficient in most households when there there hasn’t been a back up of sewage. Regular use is one thing, fecal matter is a special case.

If you mop the floor thoroughly using your favorite soap and water you’re going to get up just about every germ. Rinse your mop and the bucket thoroughly and then go back over with a mild bleach solution (Read How to Use Bleach Safely) the act of disinfecting the floor will also disinfect the mop and the bucket at the same time. The germs, like e. coli or staph, are going to be killed while they are cleaned up.

PAY ATTENTION: The first step of getting rid of as much organic matter (the actual dirt, grime or filth) is actually the most important one.

This O-Cedar Quick-Wring Bucket looks like a good option that would allow you to stay hands free. Ever try it?

As far as the towels, again the soap and water situation works here, too. Just wash the towels by themselves, on the hottest cycle, with the longest agitation possible. (Still use the large load setting, you want as much water flow as possible.) Add 2 TBSP of bleach to the wash water, about five minutes into the agitation cycle.

Tips to keep your bathroom squeaky clean!

I’m assuming you’re not using your guest towels to clean up toilet water, right? This is the same method recommended to clean flood contaminated clothing. It is adequate for your needs, as well. If you’re still feeling skeeved, go ahead and run a cycle to wash your clothes washer, but that is probably overkill.

Also it’s not just girls, I’m fighting the same battle with my boys. Remember last week’s post on how to use a plunger? I’ve been getting a fair amount of practice here, too.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

               
CommentsOMGosh, I Just had he same thing happen to us early this AM, ... by KarenJust encourage your family to practice extra-good hand washing. ... by Heather SolosI am freaking out right now! I have OCD and my toilet just ... by LeeThanks for this information! I found this due to my own little ... by AshleyI wish I could have turned off the valve on the toilet before ... by GeorgePlus 8 more...